What is the NBA in-season tournament? Format, schedule, groups
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Tim Bontemps, ESPN
The NBA announced Tuesday its schedule for the group stage games of its inaugural in-season tournament, which will see the NBA Cup handed out for the first time in Las Vegas on Dec. 9 on ESPN.
The new tournament will be a proving ground for the league’s newest star, as Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs have more nationally televised games (three) than any other team during the four-game group stage of the tournament, which will take place across the month of November.
So what, exactly, is the NBA Cup? How will the tournament work? Why is it happening? What is the NBA hoping to get out of it?
With those questions in mind, here’s what we know, and don’t know, about the NBA’s in-season tournament:
Why is this happening?
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has wanted to implement it for years, for a variety of reasons. Much like the play-in games, though, it took a long time for him to convince everyone involved to give it a shot.
The first hope, obviously, is that it generates revenue. The NBA believes the in-season tournament can become a significant moneymaking franchise over time because of the ability to sell its television rights — as it did with the WNBA’s version of the event. The other hope is to draw more eyeballs to the league. The stretch of time the tournament is set within — from the start of November through the first week of December — might be the most irrelevant part of the NBA schedule. It’s after the initial rush of the season starting, and alongside the college football and NFL regular seasons. If this tournament can bring more attention to the sport during its least relevant time of the year, it will be seen as a victory.
What is the format?
Silver has long been fascinated with European soccer, and the basis for the NBA’s in-season tournament lies in the cup tournaments across Europe. In those leagues, there is a regular-season championship, determined by the team with the most points over the full year, and then a separate tournament (or, in some leagues, multiple tournaments) that runs concurrently with the league season.
Unlike European soccer tournaments, though, which all are played outside of the league schedule, the NBA Cup is built into the NBA’s regular-season schedule. The 30 teams were split up into six five-team groups.
The four group stage games will be played on seven November dates: four Fridays (Nov. 3, 10, 17 and 24) and three Tuesdays (Nov. 14, 21 and 28).
The quarterfinals will be played Dec. 4 and 5 at the higher-seeded team, and the semifinals and championship game will be Dec. 7 and 9 in Las Vegas.
How will this impact the regular-season schedule and standings?
Teams are going to have to adjust on the fly to new games being added to their seasons.
Typically, the NBA sends out a full 82-game schedule in mid-August. This year, though, the league will be sending each team only 80 games. Why? Because each team’s final two regular-season games will be determined by how the in-season tournament plays out.
The 22 teams that fail to qualify for the knockout rounds of the in-season tournament will have their final two games scheduled — one at home and one on the road — on Dec. 6 and 8 against other teams eliminated in the group stage.
The East teams that lose in the quarterfinals and the West teams that lose in the quarterfinals will play each other on Dec. 7. The teams that lose in the semifinals in Las Vegas will have played their full allotment of 82 games, while the teams that reach the championship game will actually wind up playing 83 games — with the championship game not counting toward the regular-season standings.
Why does the NBA Cup include regular-season games?
Before its launch, one of the biggest questions surrounding the in-season tournament was why any team would be incentivized to compete in it. By making it part of the regular-season schedule, and making every game count toward the regular season — very important from a playoff tiebreaker standpoint — the NBA created a situation in which it is in teams’ interest to win these games.
If this had been set up like the cup tournaments in European soccer, there would’ve been nothing stopping NBA teams from opting out literally or figuratively, sitting all of their top players and getting extra rest time. Under this system, though, they’ll have every incentive to play and win.
What teams make up the groups?
To create the groups — which were separated by conferences — the NBA put all 15 teams in each conference into five pots, separated by their finish in last season’s standings. So: Pot 1 included the teams that finished 1-3 in regular-season record, teams 4-6 went into Pot 2, teams 7-9 in Pot 3, teams 10-12 in Pot 4 and teams 13-15 in Pot 5.
As a result, the following groups were drawn:
Group A: Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons
Group B: Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets
Group C: Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic
Group D: Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, LA Lakers, Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers
Group E: Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets
Group F: Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs
What do players get for winning?
Another incentive: The players on the winning team will each get $500,000, while the runners-up will get $200,000. The losing players of the semifinals will each get $100,000, and the losing players of the quarterfinals will each get $50,000.
Will anyone earn individual honors for their play in NBA Cup games?
There will be a Most Valuable Player award for the in-season tournament, as well as an all-tournament team.
Will this have any impact on the playoffs?
No. While there was some debate among league insiders about guaranteeing a playoff berth as a reward for winning the tournament, ultimately that idea — or any other to further incentivize teams — was not enacted. The only playoff impact will come from the wins and losses accrued throughout the tournament.
Why is it called the NBA Cup?
Because it’s easy enough to change. In the short term, the NBA has said it went with the most basic of titles for both the tournament and its trophy — the “in-season tournament” and “NBA Cup” — as a way to introduce the concept to fans. However, using such bland, nondescript names has another clear advantage: When the league looks to sell the naming rights to both, it’ll be an easier transition from an unremarkable name than one connected with a specific individual (such as the late David Stern, one possibility that had been floated before the tournament was officially unveiled).
2:18
The best matchups of the inaugural NBA in-season tournament
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In-Season Tournament schedule
DATE | GAME | GROUP | TIME | NATIONAL TV
*All times are ET
Friday, Nov. 3
Nov. 3 | New York vs. Milwaukee | East B | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Nov. 3 | Dallas vs. Denver | West B | 10 p.m. | ESPN
Nov. 3 | Cleveland vs. Indiana | East A | 7 p.m.
Nov. 3 | Washington vs. Miami | East B | 8 p.m.
Nov. 3 | Brooklyn vs. Chicago | East C | 8 p.m.
Nov. 3 | Golden State vs. Oklahoma City | West C | 8 p.m.
Nov. 3 | Memphis vs. Portland | West A | 10 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 10
Nov. 10 | Brooklyn vs. Boston | East C | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Nov. 10 | L.A. Lakers vs. Phoenix | West A 10 p.m. | ESPN
Nov. 10 | Philadelphia vs. Detroit | East A | 7 p.m.
Nov. 10 | Charlotte vs. Washington | East B | 7 p.m.
Nov. 10 | New Orleans vs. Houston | West B | 8 p.m.
Nov. 10 | Utah vs. Memphis | West A | 8 p.m.
Nov. 10 | Minnesota vs. San Antonio | West C | 8 p.m.
Nov. 10 | LA Clippers vs. Dallas | West B | 8:30 p.m.
Nov. 10 | Oklahoma City vs. Sacramento | West C | 10 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 14
Nov. 14 | San Antonio vs. Oklahoma City | West C | 7:30 p.m. | TNT
Nov. 14 | LA Clippers vs. Denver | West B | 10 p.m. | TNT
Nov. 14 | Miami vs. Charlotte | East B | 7 p.m.
Nov. 14 | Atlanta vs. Detroit | East A | 7 p.m.
Nov. 14 | Indiana vs. Philadelphia | East A | 7 p.m.
Nov. 14 | Orlando vs. Brooklyn | East C | 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 14 | Dallas vs. New Orleans | West B | 8 p.m.
Nov. 14 | Portland vs. Utah | West A | 9 p.m.
Nov. 14 | Minnesota vs. Golden State | West C | 10 p.m.
Nov. 14 | Memphis vs. L.A. Lakers | West B | 10:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 17
Nov. 17 | Philadelphia vs. Atlanta | East A | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Nov. 17 | Sacramento vs. San Antonio | West C 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Nov. 17 | Phoenix vs. Utah | West A | 10 p.m. | ESPN
Nov. 17 | Milwaukee vs. Charlotte | East B | 7 p.m.
Nov. 17 | New York vs. Washington | East B | 7 p.m.
Nov. 17 | Detroit vs. Cleveland | East A | 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 17 | Boston vs. Toronto | East C | 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 17 | Orlando vs. Chicago | East C | 8 p.m.
Nov. 17 | Denver vs. New Orleans | West B | 8:30 p.m.
Nov. 17 | L.A. Lakers vs. Portland | West A | 10 p.m.
Nov. 17 | Houston vs. LA Clippers | West A | 10:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 21
Nov. 21 | Cleveland vs. Philadelphia | East A | 7:30 p.m. | TNT
Nov. 21 | Utah vs. L.A. Lakers | West B | 10 p.m. | TNT
Nov. 21 | Toronto vs. Orlando | East C | 7 p.m.
Nov. 21 | Indiana vs. Atlanta | East A | 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 21 | Portland vs. Phoenix | West A | 9 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 24
Nov. 24 | Boston vs. Orlando | East C | 2:30 p.m. | NBA TV
Nov. 24 | Phoenix vs. Memphis | West A | 5 p.m. | NBA TV
Nov. 24 | Miami vs. New York | East B | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Nov. 24 | San Antonio vs. Golden State | West C | 10 p.m. | ESPN
Nov. 24 | Chicago vs. Toronto | East C | 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 24 | Detroit vs. Indiana | East A | 8 p.m.
Nov. 24 | Denver vs. Houston | West B | 8 p.m.
Nov. 24 | Washington vs. Milwaukee | East B | 8 p.m.
Nov. 24 | Sacramento vs. Minnesota | West C | 8 p.m.
Nov. 24 | New Orleans vs. LA Clippers | West A | 10:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 28
Nov. 28 | Milwaukee vs. Miami | East B | 7:30 p.m. | TNT
Nov. 28 | Golden State vs. Sacramento | West C | 10 p.m. | TNT
Nov. 28 | Chicago vs. Boston | East C | 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 28 | Toronto vs. Brooklyn | East C | 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 28 | Atlanta vs. Cleveland | East A | 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 28 | Charlotte vs. New York | East B | 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 28 | Oklahoma City vs. Minnesota | West C | 7 p.m.
Nov. 28 | Houston vs. Dallas | West B | 8:30 p.m.
